Can ERAS help reduce health disparities and overcome barriers to equitable surgical care in marginalized communities?

Abstract

Health inequities persist in surgical outcomes between different races and ethnicities. Enhanced Recovery after Surgery (ERAS) protocols are innovative perioperative management strategies that have improved outcomes and reduced costs of delivering care. Quality improvement tools embedded in the protocols allow for sequential improvements in compliance and outcomes. Standardization of perioperative care may reduce healthcare inequities and improve outcomes in marginalized communities. In this review, we describe the benefits of ERAS in surgical outcomes, discuss how implementation of ERAS could potentially reduce health disparities in pediatric surgical patients, demonstrate the barriers present in ERAS implementation, propose solutions to these implementation barriers (Table 1).